As part of PlayStation Tournaments, Sony PlayStation announces XP, the new competitions that unite the PS5 community. The company aims to combine a high-level tournament with professional broadcasts so that players can compete in the video games EA Sports FC 25, Tekken 8, Fortnite, and ASTRO BOT, as Blackmagic Design has claimed in a statement.

Open to players worldwide, the event moves from online qualifiers to a live final, where top competitors form teams based on PlayStation’s iconic shapes (Triangle, Square, Circle, and Cross) to battle for prizes.

High Viz Media deployed a video workflow built around the ATEM Constellation 8K live production switcher and ATEM 4 M/E Advanced Panel for live streaming event coverage to Sony PlayStation’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

Sam Deans, an independent producer and broadcast director, worked closely with High Viz Media and was responsible for directing the production and vision mixing of images. “We had 42 video inputs actively used in the vision mix,” begins Deans. “We also had just 36 hours in the venue, including rig and derig. It was an incredibly ambitious turnaround for such a massive and complex production.”

Deans also mentioned the ATEM Constellation 8K switcher when talking about the tournament’s image processing. “In addition, since the mixer supports the audio signals integrated into the video inputs, it is extremely useful when capturing shots of plays in the field of esports,” he said.

The ATEM 4 M/E Advanced Panel also allowed the team to handle the sheer volume of video inputs and the vision mix. “The mix of downstream graphics and custom control systems made use of the ATEM’s API workflow, enabling complicated multi M/E cuts between matches,” says Deans.

Featuring a circular stage, the space incorporated 12 custom PlayStation 5 (PS5) gameplay pods, each equipped with video, audio and network systems to capture player action. Furthermore, a dedicated caster studio hosted live commentary, while a co streamer area allowed five Twitch creators to stream with alternative styles, using streamlined production setups with access to the main broadcast’s gameplay and camera feeds.

That workflow relied on DeckLink Duo 2 capture and playback cards for ingest into vMix Software to operate an all in one software vision mix, while a Blackmagic Videohub 40×40 12G SDI video router was employed to distribute the host broadcast signals to all five co streamer setups.

Finally, they needed to add graphic overlays to each PS5 feed before it reached the ATEM Constellation 8K. For this, they used DeckLink Quad 2 capture and playback cards, processing three gameplay feeds across four PCs with vMix. “These cards are ideal since any SDI port can be an input or output, making it a powerful and cost effective way to add 12 graphics channels to a production,” concludes Deans.